CHAPTER TWO — TRADITIONS

"Is it me or did Remus Lupin get hot?"

Sat on the opposite side of the train compartment with her long legs sprawled across Lily's lap, Marlene McKinnon lowered her sunglasses and squinted at Dorcas Meadows. "Really?"

"Oh, totally." Dorcas paused briefly as she brought her hand towards her lips and blew some air onto her freshly painted purple fingernails. "In, like, a sexy nerd kind of way, obviously."

"Oh yeah, I see it," Chrissy said, mouth full of chocolate.

Marlene frowned at her. "Really?"

Mary Macdonald chuckled, peering at the girls over the top of her book – another Muggle romance Liv had never heard of, though the shirtless man on the front cover had certainly intrigued her. "Personally, I think Remus has always been cute."

"Merlin knows he's probably the only decent person in that friend group," Lily muttered, tossing a card down into the space between her and Marlene. They were on their fourth game of exploding snap, and it was getting increasingly more violent as time went on.

Liv lowered the issue of Witch Weekly she was skimming onto her lap, raising her eyebrows at Lily. "James Potter slander already? We're not even at school yet."

Lily huffed. "Do you know how many letters he sent me this summer? Seventeen, Liv. Seventeen."

"It's a new record," Marlene added, the corner of her mouth twitching.

"I do know that," Liv responded. "Because he spent the entire summer complaining that you hadn't responded to a single one."

"I did reply, actually. It said," Lily paused, holding up a finger mid air as she pretended to scribble a letter. "Dear Potter, stop sending me letters or I will hex you into oblivion when I see you at school."

Marlene and Mary giggled.

"A huge mistake on your part." Liv struggled to hold back her grin. "That'll only encourage him more."

Lily groaned, slamming another card down. Liv smirked and picked up her magazine again.

—

A few compartments away, Sirius Black absentmindedly tracked the movements of a black fly as it tried, and failed, to get out of the window. Remus was sat across from him, his head buried in a book. Peter was beside Sirius, nodding along as he listened to James rattle on about Lily.

"Liv always says they have better things to talk about than boys, but I reckon that's just a cover up," James theorised, pausing to take a bite of his pumpkin pasty. "I'm telling you, Evans is warming up to me."

Sirius grimaced as pastry crumbs sprayed from James' mouth.

"Have you ever, I don't know, considered that Liv might be telling the truth?" Remus spoke up, though his eyes remained trained on his book – one of the many multitasking skills Sirius had never quite mastered. Not that Sirius willingly read books that often. "Surely your lives aren't that interesting to them."

"Stop taking her side," James criticised, eyes narrowing at him. "Merlin, I wish I'd never introduced you two."

Peter directed a smirk in Remus' direction. "It's because he fancies her."

Remus exhaled heavily through his nose. "No, Peter, I do not fancy her," he dismissed, flicking his page. "Do I enjoy her company? Yes, because she is a welcome break from the three of you. Is the majority of our time together taken up by studying? Yes, because I'm tutoring her in Herbology. Which, Peter, you could probably also do with some help with."

Peter's ears burned red.

Sirius attempted to study Remus' expression, but he gave nothing away. Sirius hated that.

James, there was never any problem with; he was loud and proud about everything. He often wore his strongest emotions on his face, even if it was only a brief glimpse of a grin, or scrunch of a nose, or furrowed eyebrows. Sirius hadn't quite mastered the silent communication – or, what he used to think was actual mind reading – that James and Liv had managed to adopt in their many years of friendship, but he reckoned he was getting close enough.

Peter was more reserved in what he shared, but it was usually his eyes that gave him up. The way his gaze would shift during conversation topics that made him uncomfortable, or how his eyes would brighten when they liked one of his prank ideas, or dim when something had hurt him. Everything weighed heavy in Peter's state.

And Liv, well, it was her mouth that gave her away. Sirius would know that because he'd spent plenty of time looking at her lips. The delight he'd feel whenever he caught the corners of her mouth reluctantly twitching after something he'd said. Or the amusement he'd get when she'd press her lips together after something had clearly annoyed her. And then there was the way she'd bite her bottom lip when she concentrated, something that particularly drove Sirius insane...

Anyway, it was Remus who was impossible to read. Always so calm and measured whenever he was faced with anything. If Sirius didn't actually know Remus, he'd probably mistake him for someone entirely unbothered. Sure, there'd be smiles and frowns and laughter and clenched jaws, but nothing truly substantial, and nothing that lasted long enough.

So, whilst Sirius felt that he understood almost everything about James, whilst he could recognise the depth in Peter, whilst he could notice the small giveaway details of Liv, it was Remus who seemed like a never ending blank space, and Sirius never really knew where to start with him. And the worst part of it all? Remus could see right through him.

"So, do you fancy her, Moony?" Sirius couldn't help but ask.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Remus finally tore his eyes from the page. "Did you not listen to anything I just said?"

"Yeah, but it didn't answer my question."

Remus snapped the book shut. "Perhaps I should like to know why you're so interested, Sirius?"

"Yes, Sirius, why are you so interested?" James asked accusingly. He knew that Sirius had a slight crush on Liv, and he did like to use it to his advantage on occasion.

"I'm not," Sirius shrugged. "Just bored, that's all."

"Well, if you're bored, you can come and find Lily with me," James suggested.

Sirius closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. "Really?"

"Yes." James stood up. "Come on."

Reluctantly, Sirius got to his feet. Remus simply shook his head and continued reading, but Peter decided to tag along with them.

The three boys stepped into the main corridor, which was tightly packed with other students, talking, searching for friends, even sitting down together, having found no other empty compartments.

James slowed for a moment, motioning his head to the left. Sirius caught sight of short blonde hair and a pair of black chunky boots disappearing through a door at the end of the aisle. James turned back to Sirius with a satisfied grin and quickened his pace. A group of giggling girls parted to let them through.

They reached the compartment and James went for the handle, but the sliding door was pulled open from the inside instead. It was so fast, and violent, that it slammed against the other side of the doorframe and made it vibrate.

James stopped abruptly, almost slamming straight into Liv, who took a step back and placed her hands on her hips. "Ah, speak of the devil and he shall appear. I was just coming to find you."

James leaned an arm against the doorframe with a lop-sided grin. "Then why don't you look so incredibly pleased to see me?"

"Because I was planning on killing you when I found you!" Liv snapped. James shrank back slightly. She was the only person who ever had that kind of effect on him, and it was always the height of entertainment for Sirius. "Did you tell Lewis Loughty that I have a crush on him?"

Loughty? Gross. Sirius thought Liv had much better taste than that. Sure, the guy was objectively one of the most attractive people in the school, and, if he was forced, Sirius would admit that he was okay at quidditch, but he was also a complete wanker.

"Oops." James bit his bottom lip. Sirius noticed his friend's shoulders jerking as he appeared to hold back laughter. He knew that wasn't going to go down well.

Liv leaned into the compartment and asked, "Marls, pass me that magazine will you?"

She stepped back out, magazine clutched in hand, and calmly rolled up the issue of Witch Weekly before proceeding to lean over and whack James across the head with it.

"Ow!"

"You absolute prat! Why would you do that?!"

"For fuck's sake, Liv, I don't know, it just sort of slipped out!" She hit him again. "Ow! Stop hitting me, woman!"

"I will fucking hex you, James!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!"

"Oh, you will be," Liv responded darkly. "You wait until I tell Lily all the horror stories I have about you."

James' mouth immediately clamped shut. His posture straightened. "You wouldn't."

Liv daringly tilted her head to the side. "Wouldn't I?"

Sirius was obsessed.

"Liv," James addressed. "Come on, you know it was an accident."

"Was it?"

"Yes! It was before the break, I thought he'd have forgotten by now! Plus, I didn't exactly expect you to find out!" His eyebrows pinched together. "How did you find out, by the way?"

"Because not one, not two, but three of his mates have come up to me today to find out who I am!" Liv exclaimed. "Not only that, but clearly the entirety of Gryffindor must have found out, because everywhere I went people were laughing!"

"Maybe that's just you?" James suggested with a cheeky smile, which quickly faltered when Liv took a step closer to him.

"And then," she continued lowly. "As if I couldn't sink any fucking lower into the pits of embarrassment, Lewis came along and asked if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him!"

James' eyes widened. "That's great! See, it all worked out in the end!"

"No, James, it did not," Liv hissed. "It did not work out, because clearly it was for a dare!"

"Hey, you don't know that," he countered. Sirius noticed the way his voice dropped with sincerity. "He might be super into you–"

"Oh, don't patronise me just to get out of this."

"I'm not!"

"Did you say no?" Sirius interrupted.

Liv blinked up at him, seeming to only just recognise that he was stood there. "What?"

"Did you say no to Loughty?"

She sighed. "No, Black. Whilst it would be ideal to cling onto any shred of dignity I have left, I am still a woman first."

James' eyebrows quirked. "You said yes?"

"Technically Marlene did before I got the chance," Liv explained. "But, yes, I went along with it."

"Well, look at that, it did all work out in the end!" James grinned, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to his side. Liv glowered at him. "You've got a date with Lewis, Evans is slowly falling in love with me–"

"If you turn around and walk away right now, I won't tell Lily every single shred of dirt I have on you," Liv reasoned with him. "Or show her the embarrassing childhood photos I have."

James scoffed. "Bold of you to assume you can embarrass me."

"I have four words for you."

"I love you, James?" He attempted, wincing at the stern expression on her face.

Liv looked him in the eyes. "Bath time. Rubber ducks."

"Okay, see you later," James said, removing his arm from her shoulders and immediately turning on his heel, grabbing Sirius and Peter by the sleeves of their shirts.

"That's what I thought."

"Woah, woah, woah." Sirius managed to wriggle himself out of James' tight grip, looking back and forth between them in amusement. "What do I have to do to find out about this?"

"I'm sure there's something you can do to earn those privileges, Black" Liv said, leaning a hand against the door.

Sirius pressed his lips together as his eyes roamed over her; short black skirt, tights and ankle boots, with the first few buttons of her long-sleeve white shirt undone, red and gold striped tie hanging loosely around her neck, intense brown eyes looking at him like that.

Oh, he was definitely obsessed.

"Olivia fucking Madden, if you do I will unleash actual hell!" James warned. Liv tore her eyes away from Sirius to smirk at him in response. "Don't you dare!"

She moved away from the door, pointing a finger at him. Her nails were painted red to match their house colours. "Come anywhere near this part of the train and you'll pay. Got it?"

James breathed out heavily in irritation, his shoulders lowering in defeat. "Got it"

Liv gave them all an innocent smile, eyes lingering on Sirius a moment, before she disappeared back inside her compartment, slamming the door shut.

Sirius released a breath, staring at the empty space she'd previously occupied. "Remind me again why we hang out with you and not her?"

"Shut up," James muttered. He spared one last longing glance at the compartment before turning away. "Come on, let's go back. I'm hungry."

Sirius quickened his pace to catch up with James, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "So you bath with rubber ducks?"

"I was five years old!"

"Rubber ducks?" Peter asked curiously. "What are they?"

"Chrissy told me they're these muggle–"

"Shut up!"

—

"Oi, Evans!"

Upon the unmistakably annoying sound of James Potter's voice, Liv was forced to stifle a laugh as she watched panic wash across Lily's face. The redhead instinctively grabbed the arms of the two people closest to her, which happened to be an unsuspecting Chrissy and Mary, who were wrapped up in their own conversation and entirely unaware of the situation.

"Quick, move faster," Lily instructed, dragging the girls away from the Hogwarts Express and towards the carriages waiting to escort them to school.

Liv had to hand it to James, he'd actually managed to honour the terms of their agreement by waiting until they were off the train before stalking Lily again. She supposed she shouldn't tell him off for that, as much as she might have wanted to.

Liv walked several paces behind Lily, with Marlene and Dorcas either side of her, the trio moving at a leisurely speed.

"Despite the harassment, you do have to somewhat admire his persistence," Marlene said, peering at the four retreating boys over her shoulder.

"Ugh, I wish he would just give up," Lily whined ahead of them. "Can't he take a hint?"

"James is an Aries and therefore stubborn," Liv pointed out. "He's never going to give up."

Lily dramatically threw her head back and groaned. Liv and Marlene shared an amused look, unable to hide the matching grins working onto their faces.

They managed to reach the next free carriage without any more hassle from James. Liv had recently learned the carriages were pulled by creatures called Thestrals. She'd never seen one, but was told that, morbidly, it was only those who had witnessed death that could. Fortunately, none of the other girls could see the creatures either, and all climbed inside without much thought to them.

She sat down in the space beside Mary, who had already reopened her book and continued reading. Chrissy and Dorcas had started to talk on the upcoming quidditch season, and Lily was ranting about James to Marlene, who was clearly much more interested in the attractive seventh years in the nearby carriage and not listening to a single word being said.

Liv couldn't quite believe she was thinking it – in fact, she almost immediately shook the thought from her mind – but she was starting to wonder whether James had a point about Lily warming to him. Not that Liv thought her friend was actually warming to him, per say, but she was certainly talking about him a lot.

The ride to the castle was swift, aside from a few bumps along the dirt trail. When they reached the black iron gate, the carriage pulled to a stop and the girls hopped down.

Hogwarts made Liv stop and stare every year she arrived; she remembered how the magnificent stone castle held a power that seemed so intimidating in her first year, and yet remained so magical at the same time. Though it towered over them, the intimidation had waned over the years, but the magical feeling only got stronger.

Liv's favourite time to observe the castle was during the night. The grounds were beautiful underneath the stars, and she was already looking forward to regularly sneaking back up to the Astronomy tower in the early hours.

The girls made their way through the giant oak doors and followed the crowd of students into the Great Hall, where the sorting hat ceremony would be taking place for the first years, thus commencing the welcome feast – also known as Liv's favourite part of arriving. Her stomach had been grumbling since they left the Hogwarts Express (she knew she should never have given those extra chocolate frogs to Mary and Dorcas) so Liv was hoping for a speedy sorting ceremony.

They sat down at the designated Gryffindor table, in a free space that she knew was a little too close to the boys for Lily's liking, but Liv and James had some first day traditions of much greater importance.

She drummed her hands against the table, staring up into the mischievous blue eyes of the grinning boy opposite her.

"Ready to lose all your money, Madden?"

"Ready to lose all your pride, Potter?"

Remus, now dressed impeccably in his school robes and displaying a shiny red prefects badge, sighed exasperatedly. "Do we have to sit through this torture you call good-spirited betting every single year? I thought Professor McGonagall was going to throw you both out last time."

"That's because James threw a galleon at my forehead."

"Yeah, because you called me a twat?"

"Well it's true?"

Remus ran a hand over his face. "I'm way too hungry to deal with this."

James reached into his trouser pockets, emptying loose change onto the table. "All right, Chrissy, you in?"

"Absolutely not," she declined with a shake of her head. "You lot are feral."

"Pete?"

He shrugged. "Guess so."

"Moony?" James questioned.

"I'll moderate."

"Probably for the best."

"Hey, here they come," Sirius announced, craning his head to get a better look at the entrance of the Great Hall.

Professor McGonagall led a large group of awestruck first years inside. They scurried behind the older witch, slowing for a moment to admire the interior of the building, with its towering walls, skylight ceiling and hovering candles making it seem incredibly large but welcoming nonetheless. Their eyes darted around the hall, peeking occasionally at the older students.

Liv remembered the first time she stepped through those doors, the overwhelming mixture of emotions, of apprehension, excitement, intimidation, knowing it would be a place called home for the next seven years. With only two of those years left, and time seeming to fly by, Liv sometimes wondered whether she should have appreciated those moments more when she was younger.

Sirius squinted into the distance. "Is it me or do they get smaller every year?"

"No, you're just getting taller," Chrissy said.

"And you need glasses," Liv added.

"I can see your radiant beauty very clearly, thanks, Livvy," Sirius responded with a flirtatious smile. Liv hated how quick he was sometimes. "And we can't all stay five foot forever," he teased Chrissy, nudging her with his elbow.

"I'm five foot three actually, and I can and will still kick your arse."

Sirius winked in response, turning back to face the others. "All right, how big are we going this time?"

"It's sixth year, so big," James replied. He pulled his hands out from underneath the table and dropped several galleons and a dozen sickles into the middle.

Liv quirked an eyebrow. "I thought you were saving for a new broom?"

"I am," James said, grinning over at her. "This is how I'm paying for it."

"All right," Liv shrugged, hand diving into her own pocket. "Your loss."

She chucked some extra sickles and two galleons onto the pile of money, which had been further built up by the amount Sirius had put down. Remus had given him a questioning look, to which Sirius shrugged. "What? It's not even mine. Might as well waste it."

"Fair point."

"Ah, gambling, courtesy of Walburga Black," Liv began. "The meanest bitch to ever walk the planet."

"Hey, that's my mother you're talking about," Sirius reminded firmly. Liv's heart almost soared in panic for a moment, until she noticed the grin settle on his lips. "At least call her a fucking c–"

"When I say your name," Professor McGonagall interjected. The room's attention turned to the explanation of the sorting process. "You will come forth. I will place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."

James rubbed his hands together. "Let's do this. First one's up!"

McGonagall looked down at the parchment in her hands. "Aarons, Kate."

Liv leaned forwards to take a closer look. A brunette girl slid onto the stool, staring timidly down at her shoes, which swung in the air, unable to reach the floor. Sirius was right, the first years really were getting smaller.

"Ravenclaw," Liv guessed quietly, aware that the entire hall had fallen silent in anticipation for the first sorting. That usually happened right at the start, until the tables gained momentum and started competing over getting more students. And then, Liv could almost guarantee that by the S and T section, which usually took fucking forever, everyone's excitement would start deflating as hunger took over.

James pushed his glasses up his nose, studying the girl for a moment longer. "Slytherin."

"Slytherin," agreed Peter.

"She looks evil," Sirius affirmed. "I'm saying Slytherin."

"Sirius, you can't just call people evil," Chrissy hissed.

"Well I just did?"

"SLYTHERIN!" The sorting hat announced.

"Fuck."

"Yes!"

Thankfully, the raucous from the Slytherin table drowned out the other four's shouts.

Sirius turned to Chrissy, eyebrows raised. "You were saying?"

"Shove off."

"Abbott, Audrey."

Liv watched a little blonde girl skip towards the wooden stool, a nervous smile on her lips.

"This one's a Hufflepuff," Liv said confidently. She felt slightly shaken beginning the game with a wrong guess, but she was pretty certain on this one

James pushed more money into the middle of the table. "I see your Hufflepuff and I raise you Gryffindor."

"I'm going Ravenclaw," Sirius told them.

"Gryffindor," said Peter.

The four of them watched and waited in anticipation as the sorting hat took some time to deliberate.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Shit."

"Yes!"

The game continued in a similar pattern, with James and Peter often claiming most of the winnings (Sirius kept playing wildcards and Liv was a little off her game, usually she'd be beating them by a landslide.)

"Ortiz, Kiona."

Liv's instantly looked up.

"Oi," James whispered, leaning across the table to grab her attention. "Liv. Isn't that your cousin?"

She nodded, following the young girl's tentative steps towards the sorting hat. "Yeah. Aunt Tara's daughter."

Chrissy turned to her. "You never mentioned she was starting?"

"To be fair, we haven't seen them in years," Liv responded. "My aunt isn't in contact with dad anymore."

Mostly because her dad's family were the fucking worst. Because they couldn't deal with the fact that he defied them by marrying a muggle-born woman, and not a pureblood. Because they were pompous, supremacist wankers—

"Hey, your family are Slytherins, right?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah."

There were a few exceptions. For example, Liv — that one definitely hadn't gone down well. And her Aunt Tara had been in Ravenclaw, which was deemed slightly more acceptable, though it did cause some controversy.

Sirius pushed his entire winnings into the middle of the table. "All in, Slytherin."

James followed suit, and so did Peter. Liv separated around three quarters of her winnings and added them to the middle pile. "Ravenclaw."

James' jaw dropped. "Are you mental?"

"Possibly."

The four of them sat back and watched. Liv waited with bated breath as Kiona slowly sat herself down on the stool, her tiny feet tapping against the floor. Liv felt nerves settle in her own stomach, which only grew as the sorting hat seemed to take forever to decide.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Bastard!"

"YES!"

Liv clapped along with the entire Ravenclaw table, which had erupted with cheers. As she watched Kiona hurry over to them, Liv's attention couldn't help wandering towards the new head boy, Archie McKinley, who welcomed Kiona to Ravenclaw with a gentle smile and a handshake. Liv, heart melting, was, in that moment, sure that Kiona would be in good hands. In fact, she, herself, would very much like to be in those hands–

"Stop fawning over McKinley."

"Shut up," Liv hissed back at Chrissy, who snickered.

Okay, yeah, she had a little crush on the head boy. Big deal.

"Cheat," James accused bitterly, reluctantly shoving the winnings towards Liv.

"Loser."

James pulled a face in response.

"Owens, David," McGonagall called.

Liv snuck one last look at Kiona, who was smiling, seeming pleased, and then Archie – Merlin, he was so gorgeous – before turning her attention back to the front. A blonde boy strolled up to sorting hat with an airy kind of confidence, his mannerisms instantly indicating to Liv exactly what she needed to know.

"Looks smarmy," James noted first. "I'm going Slytherin."

"Me too," Liv said, pushing half her winnings into the middle.

"That's bold, Livvy." Sirius leaned back, arms crossed. "I think I might go Gryffindor."

Peter glanced between Sirius and James, before eventually deciding, "Gryffindor."

Liv's shoulders relaxed as the sorting hat was placed on the head of David Owens, feeling quietly confident about her guess. James appeared the same way, mirroring her assured stance, and even exchanging a smirk with her.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Motherfucker!"

A/N

To sum up:

• Everyone has a crush on Remus
• James has a crush on Lily
• Sirius has a crush on Liv
• Liv has a crush on everyone